• A. United States
  • B. China
  • C. Soviet Union
  • D. Great Britain

💡 Need a hint?

Think of the country that has topped the medal standings for over a century, and has also hosted the Summer Games on multiple occasions.

✅ View the answer

The correct answer is A. The United States have by far collected the most gold medals in the history of the Olympic Summer Games, and stand well above the other three countries in the all-time standings.

📚 More background information

The United States have been active since the very first modern Summer Games and have never relinquished that lead. Athletics and swimming have traditionally been the great pillars, and names such as Michael Phelps have contributed enormously to that tally.

The Soviet Union was a serious competitor during its existence, amassing enormous numbers of medals in a relatively small number of participations. But in 1991 that country ceased to exist, which froze its total. China only became truly active at the Games from the 1980s onwards, but climbed rapidly thereafter, with a notable highlight being the home Games in Beijing in 2008, where the host-nation effect was clearly visible.

That host-nation effect is actually quite interesting: athletes perform better at home on average than they normally would, most likely because the wildly enthusiastic home crowd gives them that extra push. Whether it is always decisive? Hard to say. But the pattern is certainly there.